Sea Turtles
by Nuit Songeur
Summary: Admist the struggle between their parents, Joey treats his little sister, Serenity, to a little trip to the beach where she innocently compares the two of them to sea turtles. Written for a contest on LiveJournal.


**A/N:** Written for Scribbler's new YGO Drabble contest community on LiveJournal. The prompt, for week two, was 'the past.' And, to which, I came up with this. I had another attempt, with a completely different setting but then scratched it and started anew, with this. I might post that attempt later.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! DM.

**Warnings:** Probable typos. No spoilers or any of that to be included. Inspired when Joey reminisces of his sister in Season One - Duelist Kindgom when he took her to the beach.

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**Sea Turtles  
**By: Nuit Songeur

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"Where are we going, big brother?" Serenity asked Joey, holding tightly onto his hand as the bus speeded by them toward its next stop. "Where are you taking me?" Joey smiled down at his little sister and squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"To the beach, that's what you said you wanted, isn't it?" He was met with a huge grin and, squeezing her hand once more, they both set off, first crossing the street and then climbing down the stairwell that jutted out of the cliff side. He held onto her hand as they went down the steps and frequently looked back at her, making sure she was still safe. It was mostly because of instinct rather than his mother's nagging words, still fresh on his mind.

_You watch Serenity, now! Make sure she doesn't fall or drown or anything. Keep her safe, Joseph. _And he would!

Finally, the boy's sandals made contact with the grainy surface of the sand. He smiled, wiggling his small toes and turned back around to his sister.

"Look, Serenity!" he exclaimed. "We made it!" Serenity looked ahead, shielding her eyes from the bright rays of the sun. But, within moments, she saw it. The strip of sand that stretched to the oncoming waves, the ocean's glittering surface, reflecting the sun smiling above it. She saw everything.

"Race you to the water!" she challenged, giggling. Joey smirked.

"You're on!"

They disconnected hands and both siblings took off toward the ocean, their feet sinking slightly into the sand. Joey didn't run as fast as he could have though; he kept even pace with his sister and hesitated just slightly to let her win. They stopped running when the water was ankle-deep.

"I won!" Serenity said, jumping up and down as she pumped her fists into the air. "I won, I won!" Joey nodded, panting.

They first explored the many tide pools around the beach. Joey made doubly sure that Serenity didn't fall and scrape her knee. He held onto her hand tightly, not permitting her to lean too far over the edges. He always hovered above her, protectively, and pointed to the different specimens they saw.

"That one's a starfish," he said, pointing to the mollusk as it slowly glided across a rock. "If you cut it in half, both halves would grow back and make two new starfish! Isn't that cool?"

"I don't believe you!" Serenity said, doubtfully. "It can't do that."

"Sure it can!" defended Joey. "And you see that one- the sea shell that looks like it has legs sticking out? That's a hermit crab. It lives in sea shell until it gets too big for it and then he climbs out and finds a bigger shell. It's kind of a like a mobile home."

"What about his family?" Serenity asked. "Doesn't it live with his family?"

"Well, no, Serenity," Joey said, lowering his hand. "A lot of the animals that live near the sea start to live on their own as soon as they're born. Sometimes, they don't even meet their own parents."

"Oh," was all she said. She seemed a bit crestfallen and Joey could probably guess she was thinking about their parents and the divorce they both feared. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"But, um, sea turtles, they see their brothers and sisters all the time! When they hatch, they all leave the beach at the same time." Serenity smiled at him and stood up to walk over to the next tide pool.

"We'll be like the sea turtles," she said. "We'll always be there for each other!"

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This would be the second time I've ever entered a fanfic for something competitive. (First one was for an Avatar: The Last Airbender fic) Wish me luck and I hope you enjoyed! Please, review!

_**-NuitSongeur**_


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